Episoder
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 30th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Gospel of John 3:7. Jesus says,
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.”
I want to speak to you about starting the journey. The best way to start the journey is with Jesus Christ. He will not allow you to get lost. He will not take you on the wrong road. He will make sure that you get to your destination, and He will, most of all, help you to enjoy the journey.
I always remember my late mom used to say when we went on holiday, “The best part of the holiday is the journey.” Isn’t that true? Now folks, I want to tell you something. In 2014, CUM Books, which is Christian Art Publishers, Chris Johnson, a very dear brother of mine in Christ, we got together and he said to me, “Angus you are an evangelist. You get out there and preach the Gospel and you show people how to start the journey with Jesus, and we will supply a little book that we will give to every single convert or backslidden Christian as a gift from us." He has held to his promise, I am talking for 11 years! Now, if you are listening to this you probably know we have done some very big events, not just mighty men conferences, not just prayer meetings, but huge events in stadiums and Christian Art Publishers have been so faithful. Every time a person gives their life to Christ, they have an opportunity of getting one of these books for free. These wonderful people pay for the printing of that book.
Now I picked up one of those books this morning,“Starting the Journey’. It says, “The most important decision that you can ever make”. I made it on 18th February, 1979. Oh, I will never forget it. We are talking on close to 50 years ago. I will never forget that decision. Now this little book will tell you how to start the journey and to go through this life. I would encourage you to get one of these books, but folks, I am going to pray for you because that is the purpose of Thought for the Day. Please pray this prayer after me:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I want to start the journey which will take me to Heaven. I ask you to forgive me for all my sinful ways and from today onwards, I promise to put You first in my life, and I thank You for walking this road, which is quite tough at times, Lord, for walking this road with me.
In Jesus name, Amen.
God bless you and keep on with the journey. Home time is sooner and closer than you think.
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 29th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Gospel of Luke 6:46. Jesus says:
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”
Then we continue with the Book of Luke 19:8:
“Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
You see, what the Lord is looking for today from you and me is action, not cheap words. Faith is a doing word, it is a verb. It is not a noun, it is an action word. It is not just empty words. You and I have to start becoming more intentional. Zacchaeus was prepared to give back 400% to anyone that he had cheated. Now you see, that is faith in action. That is showing Jesus that he meant what he said, and because of that, you read down further in the scripture, Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today.”
You know that old joke about the guy that is always promising to pay his way, and every time it comes to his time to pay, he has short arms and long pockets. You know those guys? Maybe you and I are one of them, just keep saying, “I’ll pay” and you never put your hand in your pocket! Just pay and don’t say anything. That is more honourable. I want to say to you sir, you and I, we must stop telling our wives we are going to change that lightbulb, or we are going to mow the lawn. Just do it and you will show your wife that you really do love her. We need to be doers of God’s word today and not just hearers.
Today, go out, tell somebody about Jesus Christ. Maybe take your girlfriend and go and buy her an ice cream. Don’t keep telling her you are going to do it, but seriously, maybe you need to spend more time in prayer. Maybe you need to get yourself into physical condition so that you can be more effective for the Gospel of Christ. Maybe you need to be more verbal and not just hopeful, and God is watching you and He is watching me, and He will promote us and He will reward us.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
Manglende episoder?
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 28th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Genesis 4:6:
”So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?”
Then we go to a very special verse in the Bible for me, 1 Timothy 6:6:
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Remember the prodigal son? The prodigal son came to his father and said, “I want my inheritance.” His dad gave him all the money that was due to him. He went and spent it foolishly on women, wine and song, and he came back as an absolute tramp. He lost everything. His father was so relieved to see him come back. He had a big party organised. He loved him, but the older son who had been working in the field all day, became jealous.
Jealousy is a killer. He forgot that his father was going to leave the farm to him (he was the oldest son) and everything that he had, and because his brother was fussed over, he said, “My brother did nothing. He squandered everything we had, and my dad goes and slaughtered the fat ox and has a party, where he won’t even give me a goat that I can have a party with my friends." Jealousy - it is ugly, it’s distasteful. That is what happened with Cain and Abel. Cain became jealous of Abel, and as we know in the story, eventually, he actually killed his brother. Folks, we need to be so careful. The countenance is what he lost. His father could see it because Cain became resentful, he became distrustful, envious and he became suspicious.
Young lady, if you allow that jealousy to get into you, it will destroy you. You will start thinking things that are not even true. Look what happened with Saul, the first king of Israel. He was a handsome man, head and shoulders above any other man in Israel, and when he saw the young shepherd boy, David, succeed, instead of encouraging him, he actually lost his countenance and became a bitter and resentful man.
It is like rust in a motorcar. When rust gets into a vehicle, you take it to a panel beater. He doesn’t put body filler over the top and cover it over and paint it. No, he takes his cutting torch out and cuts out that piece of rust and he puts new plates in, welds it up and then he paints it over and it’s fine. Today, deal with that jealousy in your life. How do we deal with it? By looking to Jesus Christ and He will give you peace.
Count your blessings. Look what you have, and the person you are jealous of, love them and pray for them. God will heal you and set you free.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 27th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.
We go straight to the Gospel of John 15:7:
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Wow! Now that’s powerful. Think about that. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “abide”. It means to accept or obey a rule or decision. So if you obey the word of God, if you as a believer do what God has called you to do, and when you go out and about, His word remains in your heart during the day, during the night, when you are about to write an examination, when you are going to start a new job, when you are endeavouring to do something you have never done before, if you keep the word of God in your heart, He says what you desire shall be done for you. Now, that is massive.
As I walked into my prayer room early this morning, there was a message for me, and the message came all the way from Northern Ireland, from one of my spiritual sons, and he said, “Dad, Angus, I have just watched the movie, Faith Like Potatoes, and I want to encourage you and thank you for it because of what it means to me.”
Now, as a young boy, my desire was to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the furthest points of Planet Earth, and I want to sit here and tell you in my little prayer room, that that desire of my heart is actually coming to pass in front of my very eyes and I have nothing to do with it. I just asked the Lord, many, many years ago, “Lord, I want you to use me to send the word to the furthest points of the planet Earth, and He is doing it.
Today, if you keep the word of God close to your heart and you stay close to Him, then you are going to ask correctly, and He is going to answer you.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 26th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go straight to the word of God, to the Book of Isaiah 53:3:
“He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”I want to speak to you this morning about rejection. What is rejection? Well, according to the Oxford Dictionary it is to be shunned, to be cast off, to be turned down, to be snubbed, to become unpopular. Jesus knows exactly how you feel today, my dear friend. If you have been rejected, I know what it means, and I know what it feels like, but Jesus really knows. Not only does He know but He cares. He cares for you and most of all, He understands what you are going through.
The great revivalist, George Whitefield, who lived in the 1770’s said, “If you are going to walk with Jesus Christ, you are going to be opposed. In our days, to be a true Christian is really to become a scandal.” Now that is heavy going. Who is going to make you a scandal? It will probably be nominal christians, christians who say, “Lets live and let live and if that guy wants to live that lifestyle, leave him, and if that woman wants to do that, lets just have peace.” That’s not what God called us to do. He called us to be salty, He called us to be different, He called us to stand up for truth and righteousness and give us a passion for lost people, hurting people, sick people and rejected people!
DL Moody, another great evangelist said, tongue in cheek, but it is true, ‘If everybody has got something good to say about you, be sure, Jesus has got nothing good to say about you.” It’s true, isn’t it? Because if everybody has got something good to say about you, you are luke-warm, you are like salt that has lost it’s flavour and is only good to be cast out in the street and trampled over.
So be encouraged today if you are rejected because you are standing up for truth and righteousness, and know that the Lord is very proud of you and when He comes back to take us home with Him, He will recognise you.
God bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 25th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Romans 3:23:
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, …”
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16Why did God send His only Son down to earth to die for your sins and my sins? Do you know why? Because God knew we could never make it to Heaven on our own because there is not one person on this earth, apart from Jesus Christ, who is without sin. It is impossible for a man to work his way to Heaven. Did you hear that? Impossible. Now, I love George Whitefield, the great English evangelist who died in his mid-fifties, but he said something I have never forgotten. I am laughing because I want you to think about this. He said, “It is easier to go to the moon with a rope made of sand than it is to work your way to Heaven.” In other words, it is impossible.
I remember many, many years ago, I had the privilege of ministering at a funeral. The gentleman that had died was a very good friend, and he had a very checkered background, he had made some mistakes in his life. He had done some things that he regretted, but one thing I did know about him is that he loved Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour, and he was born again. I said at the funeral, ‘I know this man is with Jesus, not because he was a good man but because he was a believer.” And at the end of the service, a neighbour came up to me and he was furious. He said, “How can you say that good people don’t go to Heaven?” I said, “Good people cannot go to Heaven, only believers can go to Heaven.” He was not very happy, but you know, before that man died, his son had led him to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, do not fool people and try and tell them that because they are good people they are going to Heaven. That is not the truth. It is only believers in Jesus Christ that will go to Heaven.
Have a wonderful day,
God bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 24th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Book of Matthew 7:17. Jesus says,
“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
Then if we go onto verse 20, the Lord says:
“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Then we go to James 2:18:
”…and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Folks, remember that our words must match our lifestyle. You can get a fancy qualification through bribery, cheating and corruption. That’s maybe the easy part, but then when you get into the world to get a job and the employer employs you and tells you to get into the workshop and fix that tractor, fix that motorcar, and you can’t do it, straight away you are in big trouble and you will not last there very long at all. Your words must match up to your lifestyle. What you say, you must be able to deliver.
I remember hearing a story of a man that was having a party with all his friends and the conversation got onto a certain sport. This man said, “Yes, I played for that team. I was in the first team at university and I got my full colours for my sporting abilities,” and another man standing next to him said, “What team did you play for?” And he told him, “The first team.” “What university did you go to?” He told him the name of the university.” And what year did you play?” He told him the year and he said, “That is very strange because I played for the same team, at the same year and I played in the first team and I don’t remember you at all!” Do you know how embarrassing that can be? Don’t do that.
I want to say to the young lady who is listening to this message, be sure that that young man you are going out with can deliver what he says. Words are very cheap and they are easy to say, but I want to tell you, there must be fruit. If he is continually late when he fetches you for an invitation that he has invited you to, there is a note there. If he is always spending time with other girls but tells you that he loves you, there is another problem coming that side. You know, when somebody falls in love with you, he will be there on time, in fact even earlier, because the fruit of what he is producing is love, and he loves you and respects you. Check the fruit and you will see that a fig does not come from a thorn tree.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 23rd of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Gospel of Luke 6:42:
”…how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
I am laughing because that applies to every single one of us, especially you, sir! You know folks, I love Jesus so much and His teachings are so simple and yet so profound. Remember, people who live in glass houses don’t throw stones. Do not criticise, sort your own situation out before you start to criticise and become a hypocrite. Now, I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “hypocrite”. It means “a person who pretends to have higher standards than they really have,” and that is you and I, isn’t it? Let’s be honest.
I have one of my sons who is a very accomplished rugby coach. He has his full colours for Kwazulu-Natal for teaching schoolboys how to play rugby, and often he comes up and visits us on the farm (he is living down in Durban), and we have a little chuckle together. He says to me, “Dad, the main problem I have coaching rugby is not the little boys I have to teach. No, it’s their mothers.” That’s what he told me!
He didn’t say so much about the dads. Mom, you must listen up today. He said they stand on the sidelines, and they are telling their little boy that they must kick the ball, or pass the ball or that he must tackle, or that he is messing up the game plan. He said it gets so bad that he has told the little boys - by the way, it is not their fault - ”If you listen to your mother shouting from the sideline, I am going to substitute you for somebody else." That is harsh, hey? But that is what he has to do because otherwise the kids are listening to their parents who have never played rugby, and this young son of mine has got his full colours as a rugby coach! And of course, the little boys listen to the rugby coach and that is why he is so successful.
Today, please let us, all of us, take the plank out of our own eyes before we start to tell other people how to live. Let’s start doing what Jesus says and not what we think.
Have a wonderful day,
God bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, 22nd May 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.
We start in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 3:9:
“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” He could not find Adam.
Then we go to Proverbs 18:24:
“…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” But if you want to have a friend, you have to be friendly!
I want to say to you today that the reason why God created us, man and woman, is not because He needed us. God doesn’t need anybody nor anything because He is God. Go outside today and look around at the clouds in the sky, the moon at night, the sun during the day, the stars - He made them all by saying one word. In the beginning was the Word, so He doesn’t need us, but He created us because He wants to have you as His personal friend.
Now, to me, it is one of the saddest scripture verses in the Bible. “Adam, Adam, where are you? I am looking for you.” What was Adam doing? Adam and Eve were hiding. Why were they hiding? Because they had been disobedient and had eaten of the forbidden fruit. God knew that, of course, because He knows everything, and He was so heartsore because His friends had actually disobeyed Him. Let’s not do that today.
You see, God didn’t run away from Adam and Eve, they ran away from Him. Jesus never ran away from the disciples or blamed any of them. The disciples ran away from the only Man on earth who could help them, Jesus Christ. It is so precious to have a dear friend and another mistake that we make so often - “I want to go and see my old friend but I just don’t have the time”. Then eventually you get to it. You pick up the phone or you go and visit him and they say, “He died last week. He has gone home to Heaven.” What a tragedy, and you didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.
Today, do not hide from God and be obedient to what the Lord tells you. Go and visit your friend because if you are lonely, the best way to overcome loneliness is to go and be a friend to someone else.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 21st of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go straight to the Gospel of Luke 6:38. Jesus says:
”Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
We are talking about giving, and I want to clarify something here this morning. We are not just talking about money, although money is also a factor. What you give is what you get. If you give nothing, you get nothing. It’s very simple, and this is what the Lord is saying but, you cannot out bless God. I love Him so much. I want you to know that. The more you give Him the more He gives you back. You see, because He is a giver by nature. He’s not a taker. He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to you and me so that we might have eternal life.
We started a little children’s home many years ago on the farm. I think you may be aware of that. I'll never forget, at one stage we had 18 cots, little cots in our children’s home with babies in it that were all a couple of months old. We didn’t do it for any return. We did it because Jesus said that we must take care of them. These children were abandoned and they were found in different places - abandoned in hospitals, abandoned walking down the road, and we took them in. Twenty-seven of them, plus a number that went to be with the Lord because they died in our little children’s home, but they were loved up until the day they died, but I want to tell you, you can’t out bless the Lord. The Lord says: ”For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Just yesterday, I went into town to watch one of my little grandsons playing rugby. There was another school playing against the school my grandson goes to, and I looked up and I saw one of the coaches that was coaching the opposition team, and I looked and I saw that it was one of my sons that had grown up in our children’s home. He has grown into a fine, handsome young man. I shouted across the field to him and he shouted back, ”Hello Dad, how are you?” I was so proud. I didn’t have to tell anybody else, and I have many, many sons and daughters. Some are professional rugby coaches, others are international singers, others are farm managers, others are cordon bleu chefs. We have many that have done so well and we give all the praise, honour and glory to Jesus Christ.
Today, start sowing intentionally and you will reap.
God bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 20th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in 2 Corinthians 11:3:
“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus.”
We have got to keep it simple, very simple. When the devil tempted Eve in the garden, he didn’t say, “God said this…” No, he asked her the question in Genesis 3:1:
“Has God (really, has He) indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
You see, that is how the devil works, he doesn’t attack you straight on. He plays with your mind. He says, “It’s not that bad, is it?” We need to keep the Gospel simple. There is nothing difficult about the Gospel.
I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “simplicity” and one of the meanings is “clean lines”. Keep it clean, don’t let it get congested. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith you cannot please God, and he who believes must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God said it, we believe it, that settles it. We must be careful that we are not too clever for our own good because the devil will help you along.
A lot of people in South Africa are starting to write exams, whether it be for your final year in school or university, and I want to tell you about something called cheating. Cheating is a sin. You cannot cheat. “Aah”, you say, “but Uncle Angus, it is not going to hurt anybody else. It is just going to help me along.” No, what it is going to do, it is going to open the door for the devil to come in and play havoc with your life. Remember, there is nothing new under the sun - the wisest man who ever lived said that. “Did God really say...?” That is how the devil works. “Is it really going to hurt anybody? No - well, then do it!”
I want to say to you today, you need to watch out for the slyness of the devil. I was taught when I was a new Christian, “Look out for the 3 “P’s”. What are the 3 “P’s”? It is not a joke. The first P is power. When you get power, you want more power because people listen to you and you start thinking that you are something when you are not. That is the first “P”.
The second one is petticoats. I am talking to the men. Look out for the temptation of the devil. You shouldn’t go anywhere with a woman who is not your wife by yourself, because of the temptation of the devil. “Aah, but it is just a one-night stand. No-one will find out.” Do you know how many letters I get from men who are broken because they let their wives down? It has destroyed their marriage.
Then the pennies, chasing the money. Chasing the money, you don’t pay your income tax. You think you are clever? I want to tell you something now, you will be caught out. That is exactly what happened to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Today, let’s sharpen up our act and let’s not give the devil a chance to move in.
God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 19th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
Genesis 2:18, yes, the first book in the Bible, says:
“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
He didn’t want the men to be lonely. Then we go straight to Matthew 19:5:
‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’.
Women are so different to men. I can hear all the men saying, “Hallelujah”! Do you remember that movie? Many of you don’t, but I am sure you have all heard of it, it was made in 1964, called My Fair Lady? The punchline from the movie is, “I said I’d make a woman and indeed I did. I knew that I could do it! I knew it! I knew it! I said I would make a woman and succeed, and I did.” Remember, the actor when he and his friend were in the street in London? They saw this illiterate young girl selling flowers on the street, and he said to his friend, “I will bet you that I can change that street urchin”, as it were, “into a refined lady”, and they took a bet. That was the theme of the movie. A common woman, uneducated, selling flowers on the street to try and make some money and he educated her into a beautiful, sophisticated young woman, and that is exactly what God did for you and me.
My best friend is my wife. There is no doubt about it. I don’t have to go out with ten other people to enjoy myself. I can spend time with Jill, on my own, as long as I need to and hopefully she will say the same about me. Why? Because God has made and created you and I for each other. I read you the scripture just now. For this reason, a man will leave his mom and dad, and I love my mother and father, be joined to his wife and the two will become one flesh. Such a beautiful union, made in Heaven!
Look after your wives today, gentlemen. Treat them gently. They are not rough like us. They are gentle and refined, they are beautiful, and they are very strong, and they are also made in the image of God.
Have a wonderful day!
Jesus bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 18th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Gospel of Luke 14:2-6:
”And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. (He was sick) And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”
Jesus didn’t come down from heaven to earth to break the law. No, He came to fulfil the law. In fact, He is the law. He fulfilled everything His Father told Him to do and He’s told you and I to do exactly the same thing. The Sabbath was not made for man to worship. No, the Sabbath was made by God so that we can rest. You can read that in Genesis 2, where God Himself, after working for six days, rested on the seventh day, the Sabbath. Man is not created for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is created for man. Mark 2:27.
I’m a farmer and I can tell you if I get up early on a Sunday morning to go to church and I love going to church, ask my family, it’s the favourite time of the week for me. We have a church on the farm. We have a congregation. We have two resident pastors here and elders. I am not the preacher. I go there and I sit in the congregation and listen to the word of God every Sabbath. But as a farmer, I want to tell you something. If there is an animal that is caught in a snare, trapped in a dam, I will unfortunately have to leave going to church to save the life of the animal. How much more for a person? Do not get confused. Do not throw the baby out with the water, as they say.
The Lord created us so that we could worship Him and part of worshipping Him is obeying Him. If somebody is sick, if somebody’s hungry, feed them. He says if you do that, you’re doing it unto Me. Today, remember, keep the whole law and the whole law is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your fellow man as yourself.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful Sabbath.
Goodbye.*Uncle Angus is aware that according to Jewish tradition, the Sabbath falls on a Saturday, however he is referring to the Sabbath meaning a day of rest in this message.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 17th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Book of Hebrews 12:1-2:
”Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus finished His race!
I want to speak to you today about one of the most gruelling marathon races on the planet. Yes, I am talking about the Comrades Marathon which is going to take place in a few weeks time. It is the Mount Everest of marathon races. In fact, it is two standard marathons, back to back, plus a few kilometres extra. I ran that race once, the downhill one from Pietermaritzburg to Durban but 14 kms from the end, I could view the Indian Ocean, I was on the outskirts of Durban, I collapsed, and was taken to hospital by ambulance and they put a drip in my arm. That happened because I did not eat and I did not drink sufficiently and, so I dehydrated.
I want to tell you about a little bird. Yes, I am talking about the swallow. He is currently leaving South Africa and heading north to Europe for summer. That little bird, I don’t know how much he weighs. He eats and drinks on the wing. He hardly ever stops. He catnaps on the wing, he is disciplined, and that little bird will fly all the way to Europe and then when the winter comes in Europe, he will fly all the way back down to South Africa.
You and I must also be disciplined. We must spend time with Jesus Christ every single day if we are going to finish our race, and it is not a sporting race. It is a race of life and death. Many people start so well but they don’t spend time with Jesus on the route and in the end they collapse and they fall by the way. Let’s not do that today. Let’s be disciplined like the swallow. Let’s spend time with Jesus Christ. He is the source of all we need to eat and drink and we will finish the race strong!
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 16th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to Genesis 2:2:
”And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”
Then we go straight to the New Testament to the Gospel of Mark 6:31:
And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
This is Jesus speaking. Now, if God rested on the seventh day, I’m talking about the Creator of heaven and earth, who created everything that you can see with one word (In the beginning was the Word), if He rested on the seventh day, how much more should we mere mortals also rest? C. H. Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher, wrote a letter back to his congregation when he was resting and recovering, probably from exhaustion; he said, ”By doing less, I hope to accomplish more.” Are you listening to this message my dear friend? Well I am, because I think it applies to me maybe more than some of you. That is not a joke actually. It’s very serious. It’s time to smell the roses. What does that mean? Some of us are so busy that we don’t even see the roses, never mind smell them.
They say - don’t quote me - but when the French Revolution took place in France and the whole metric system came into being, they decided to work for ten days and then rest, but it didn’t last long because the very draught animals, the horses, were dropping down in the streets and dying from exhaustion, because we have been designed to work for six days and then to rest for one day.
I really want to encourage you to look at your own lives very carefully because I’ve had to do the very same thing myself. We can make many excuses. You know, I know men that are holding down two and three jobs at one time. They are working themselves to death and your children want you, not what you can give them. They want you to spend time with them. So today, let’s re-evaluate how we are living our lives and give God first place, then your family second place, then your work, your vision, your ministry, third place.
Jesus bless you and have a restful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 15th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis 1:27:
”So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Then we go to the Book of Colossians 1:27 which says:
”…Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
I don’t care what anybody says, the Bible tells me very clearly, we did not evolve from animals, from monkeys. We were created specifically by God, and you and I have a free choice today, whether we want to serve Him or not. He’s given us the freedom to choose. You see I’ve got cattle on this farm. They don’t get any choice. Those cattle do not have a spirit in them. We have a spirit in us. That’s why we are different to the creation of the world.
We were made in three parts - body, soul and spirit. The body is your physical appearance. The soul is your character, your personality. There are no two people who have the same character or the same personality or the same set of fingerprints. Each and everyone, can you believe that? I don’t how many billion people there are on the world today but there’s not two people who have the same fingerprints because God made us, and that is why you and I need to be born again. Who said that? Jesus said that. He says, ”Unless you are born again, you’ll never see the Kingdom of Heaven.”
You know, this is a very important thing I want to say to you today, my dear friend. The spirit of a man never, ever dies. His body dies, it goes from dust to dust, but his spirit lives forever. Now we need to be sure that when we die we are going to heaven and not going to hell, and that is why we preach with such passion to people. I used to say it myself, I want to be honest with you, ”Let’s eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow we die.” No we don’t die. You either go to heaven to be with Jesus forever or to hell.
My dear old mother, I loved her so much, and I’m going to see her one day in heaven. Just after I had given my life to the Lord, I went to visit her one day, and she was crying. I said, ”Why are you crying mom?” She said, ”Because it’s different, Angus. It’s not the same anymore.” I said, ”Why?” And then I realised my mom had recognised that I had changed. The Spirit of God was within me. Today, tell people about Jesus.
God bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 14th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Genesis 1:19:
”So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
Then we go to Psalm 74:16:
”The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun.”
The Lord has made night and day for you and me. I want to say something to you this morning, I am a morning person, my day starts at 4 o’clock in the morning. It always has as far back as I can remember, especially when I was farming full time and my children were still young. I found that in the morning was always the best time for me. It still is by the way. That is when I do this very thought for the day for you. I have breakfast at 9 o’clock with my dear wife, Jill, on the farm because that’s what I used to do when I was farming. I would start work early and come in for breakfast at 9 o’clock and I want to be honest with you, the bulk of my work would be done on the farm by that time. They were the most critical times of the day for me.
I believe Jesus Himself was an early morning person because often the disciples would say, ”Lord, where have You been? The people are in the valley, they have been waiting for you.” But He had been getting instructions from His Heavenly Father on the mountain, early in the morning. I am talking about a quiet time aren’t I? - Giving the Lord the first fruits of the day - Isaiah 40:31:
”But those who wait on the Lord…” Those who spend time with the Lord, ”But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
If you put the Lord first in your life and I’m talking about in every area, that will give you the strength to see the day through. The great reformer, Martin Luther was asked, ”When you get very busy, what do you do in the morning?” Expecting him probably to say, ”Well, I have to cut back on my quiet time.” He says, ”No, I get up even earlier.” I want to say to you today. Start getting up earlier and spending time in the presence of the Lord when no one else can disturb you, and you’ll be surprised at how well your day will go.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 13th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Luke 6:12-13:
”Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve…”
When was the last time you spent a whole night in prayer, on your own, with the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you ever done it? We really need to spend time with the Lord and we need to make quality decisions. We are living in perilous times and we cannot afford just to wing it, as they say. We need to spend time in prayer, especially when it comes to major decisions.
The Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, spent a whole night in prayer before He made a very serious decision and chose the twelve disciples, who literally changed the world. If the Son of God, Jesus Christ, spent a whole night in prayer, how much more should we be doing that? Many of us don’t even give Jesus a time to answer us when we pray about something and we end up just doing a thumb suck and saying, ”Well, let’s see which way the wind is going to blow and I’ll take that as a decision from the Lord.” You can’t do that anymore because we are living in times that are so dangerous. We really need to hear from God.
Many of the men listening to this message, and the women, will remember in 2008, that we booked the biggest tent in the world by raw faith. It was made in Britain, enlarged in Europe and it was shipped out to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the World Earth Summit. We booked it and they brought it down to the farm. Seventeen 40-ton trucks brought that tent down. It took three weeks to erect it.
We had an amazing time. We had 30,000 men seated inside and about another 30,000 men seated outside. The tent was too small! After that amazing event, some very kind, godly businessmen from Johannesburg wrote to me and said they wanted to buy the tent for me, no strings attached. I mean, this is a tent that is worth millions and millions of rand and I said, ”Can I pray about it and I will come back to you?” And I did pray and I prayed hard and the Lord gave me this message. He said, ”Do not receive that tent,” because that tent would have become a millstone around my neck. It would have killed me.
You see, just to erect that tent cost R1,000,000 every time, never mind transporting it to the next venue and so very, very humbly I said to them, ”Thank you. I’m so touched that you want to do this but I’ve got instructions from the Lord. I spent time in prayer, lots of time, and He told me I won’t need it.” You know the next year, we had 120,000 men on this farm.
Spend time in prayer and God will give you correct answers.
Jesus bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 12th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-2:
“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;…”Then we go to the Gospel of John 4:35. Jesus said:
“Do you not say,‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”
We are speaking today about seasons. What season are you in? In South Africa, we are going into winter. I know in Europe and in North America, they are going into summer. I love seasons, as a farmer, I really do. Every season is so special. We are in the autumn season at the moment in South Africa. The Americans call it the time of fall, the fall season, where all the trees are losing their leaves. They are a beautiful golden amber colour, rich in colour. The crops are golden for harvest. Jesus says, “Do not hold back. It is time to reap.”
What season are you in at the moment? I know that Canada is a beautiful country, but it also can be very harsh for agriculture. Those men have to work because they have a hundred days to prepare their land, plant their crops, and harvest their crops before the snow. They need to look sharp.
Don’t waste the season that you are in at the moment. The Lord will use you in whatever season you happen to be in, and do not wish it away. I get so sad when I hear people say, “I wish this winter would finish” and then they say, “I wish the spring would get done with” and then “Summer, it is so hot. I wish the winter would come.” They are never happy. Every season is very special. Don’t wish it away, but rather embrace it and enjoy it. Don’t be afraid of retirement, madam. Sir, don’t be afraid. It is an opportunity, a new opportunity to be used by God. I want to say to that young man, a faint heart never gained a fair maiden. If you love her, propose to her and marry her. What are you hanging around for? If you don’t look sharp somebody else will marry her.
I remember in London in the City Temple, I married no less than twelve couples in one night, and they came in their casual clothes. It is a service I will never forget as long as I live. I also remember standing in the stadium, the rugby stadium in Durban, at Kings Park, and saying, “To hell with El Nino” (that’s the drought). I am going home to plant potatoes.” And I did.
Have a wonderful day, Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 11th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.
We start off in the Book of Genesis 1:11-13:
“Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. (That is oranges, making oranges, apples making apples - fruit trees, that’s right!) And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.”
Then we go to the Book of Hebrews 6:7:
”For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; ...”
The seed, we can’t live without the seed germinating because that is what makes the food, young man, young lady, that you eat every morning for your breakfast. You know what they say - “Never criticise a farmer with your mouth full because if he doesn’t produce the food, we do not eat, and if we don’t eat, we die!” Of course, the farmer does not actually produce the food. God does. The farmer simply cultivates it.
Over the last few weeks, I have had some incredible testimonies coming in from some of the driest areas in Southern Africa. People in tears, when they are sending me photos of a miracle, areas where there has been not one drop of rain for 4 years, and now it looks like the Garden of Eden. But I can hear some farmers saying, “But Angus, we are getting drowned out in our area.” Oh, I understand sir, only too well. I remember Domoina like yesterday, where the area in Greytown was cut off from civilisation. For 3 or 4 days we couldn’t get out because of the floods, but I want to tell you something now, the floods will cease and the sun will shine and the rain will come and the seed will germinate.
I have grown seed for over forty years and I want to tell you, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing that beautiful seed being harvested and pouring into the back of my old truck so I could take it to the factory. Today, be grateful when you eat your food young boy, young girl and thank God that you have got food to eat and pray for those who don’t. But remember the seed of the martyrs of the church, some of them never lived to see the fruit of their labours, but they will see it in Heaven.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
- Vis mere
